When Your Dream Dance Job Takes Place Offstage

It's fall 2009, and I'm standing in Andy Blankenbuehler's midtown office where he, Lin-Manuel Miranda and others are working on their next show, Bring It On: The Musical. Already it's clear that Miranda/Blankenbuehler collaborations are just daring enough to be groundbreaking. Blankenbuehler hands me a note scribbled on a page from the script.

In that moment, I realize I've found my place in the dance world—as a writer, telling the stories of the artistic greats.

I'd moved to New York to perform in musicals. But just a few months into a dream contract, I realized that I'd been so caught up in proving I could "make it" that I never explored career options that might better fit my personality.

In reality, dance training prepares you to do a lot more than perform. It gives you a specialized insight that many dance-related professions need in the people they hire. As Linda Shelton, executive director of New York City's Joyce Theater, says, "There are many careers in dance that don't include performing, that are equally as important—and equally as satisfying!"

How she got into management: "Growing up I was a die-hard ballerina in the making. Then I became one, and it didn't bring me joy. So I got an MFA and found directing and choreographing. The skills involved—the organizing and puzzle-piecing—translate into managerial work. After grad school, I moved to San Francisco and started cleaning the studio for Margaret Jenkins Dance Lab in exchange for rehearsal space. Two years later, I was her company manager. Every opportunity that has come to me has been through relationships."

What it's like to change your dream: "You wrap up so much of your identity in one trajectory, so when you decide not to do that thing, it's like 'Who am I?' There's still something that triggers when I see ballet, a feeling of loss, even though I know that I'm much happier with this path."

Biggest challenge: "On tour as a manager, you're still in a creative process—you're so close to the work. There are times when I get really maxed out and don't feel like making my own work. I just need time to refill the tank."

Heather Olcott

Heather Olcott at work

Courtesy Olcott

Production stage manager for Dance Theatre of Harlem

How she discovered stage managing: "At Point Park University there's a class where you work backstage. I became really intrigued and interviewed for the stage management minor. But I'd spent so many years and so much money pursuing performing, I asked my parents, 'Would you be upset if I didn't do it?' They said, 'Of course not. Don't be afraid to change your dreams.' "

Special skills required: "You have to be able to communicate well with all departments—dancers, artistic staff, production staff. They're all going to talk with you differently."

Best part: "Seeing the dancers onstage nail it. We're a family, and knowing that I played a role in their success is really rewarding."

Misconception about the job: "A lot of people don't know what a stage manager does. Any time the lights change, it's because somebody called a cue. Because I'm the production stage manager, I also 'advance' the shows, communicating with venues a month ahead about what our tech needs are, prepping to be there. I attend rehearsals, as well, learning new ballets so that I'm prepared to call the show. I learn all of the choreography!"

Elizabeth Harrison, PT, DPT

Physical therapist at Susan Underwood Physical Therapy in Nashville

Why she became a PT for Nashville Ballet: "While dancing at Nashville Ballet, I had hip surgery and one of the PTs had a dance background. I saw how valuable it was to have someone who understood the day-to-day demands."

Best part: "It's really fun to see a dancer onstage again for the first time after an injury. Recently one of our principals danced Odette/Odile for her first role back. I felt like a proud parent."

Biggest challenge: "It can be hard to figure out how to help a dancer heal while respecting the aesthetics of the art form. Maybe someone has an ankle injury, and winging is aesthetically pleasing but it's creating imbalances in the joint. I'll talk to the dancer and say, 'This is temporary. We're modifying your dancing for a short period of time,' and sometimes I'll talk to the artistic staff so they're not giving the dancer a correction that's the opposite of what I'm telling them."

A typical day: "I'm at the clinic weekdays from 7:30 to 5, then a half day on Friday. I see up to nine patients before my lunch hour, when I do lots of documentation for insurance, and then up to seven patients after lunch. During performances, I'm at the theater 30 minutes before the show for anything that needs to be prepped, like taping an ankle, then stay throughout the show. I live close to the studio, so during my free time, I'll take calls, like if someone rolls an ankle. You know they need you, so you try to make it happen."

Advice for aspiring PTs: "While you're dancing, if you can plug away at even just one college class at a time, PT school will look a lot less intimidating."

Lauren Pajer

Lauren Pajer says her dance background helps her know how to speak about dance

James Barkley Photography, courtesy Pajer

Digital design manager for Boston Ballet

Special skills required: "A deep understanding of how to use Adobe Creative Suite, an eye for good photography and a knowledge of what looks good on a dancer. It also helps to know how to speak about dance."

Biggest challenge: "Sometimes you have to really think outside the box because the budget might not be there or maybe the person you wanted to feature just got hurt. The marketing team has dressed up many times as the Nutcracker Bear for our Instagram photos."

Best part: "Being able to showcase something I believe in. My goal is to share with the world that this is something beautiful that's worth paying attention to."

Brianna Ancel

Brianna Ancel

Courtesy Ancel

Vice president at Clear Talent Group

Why be an agent: "It's a little more consistent than auditioning and pounding the pavement. I also like being in a leadership position."

Special skills required: "You have to network, which didn't come naturally for me, so I watched other agents and stepped outside my comfort zone. And you have to know what makes a great dancer—there's such a marketability factor we have to consider."

Best part: "When a client I love books something major."

Biggest challenge: "All the no's. Just like dancers deal with rejection, we do too as we're pitching."

Misconception about the job: "That it's a glamorous life! While we do enjoy some perks, it's really a sales job, and you're glued to your computer and phone."

Sara Nash

Sara Nash

Jeffery Filiault, Courtesy NEA

Director of dance for the National Endowment for the Arts

Special skills required: "Being able to see the bigger picture. I worked as a producer before I switched over to the funding side of things, and I learned how to listen and anticipate needs."

How she got her job: "I applied for it! I've never had a pathway marked out in front of me. It's been about keeping my eyes open, and even if something seemed like a stretch, throwing my hat in the ring and going for it."

Biggest challenge: "The need is so vast that no matter what you're able to do, there's always a bigger need."

Misconception about the job: "That the people working at the National Endowment for the Arts are not accessible. We want to talk to people!"

Linda Shelton

Linda Shelton

Courtesy The Joyce

Executive director of The Joyce Theater in New York City

The weight of the job: "I feel a huge responsibility to the dance field. New York is a home for dance, and I take that very seriously. It means keeping up with the needs of the field, making sure we have an audience for things that are less popular, and more popular, and constantly finding ways to find a new audience as well as keep the audience we already have."

Biggest challenge: "You're basically running a business, and your product is dance. The employees need to be paid and the brochures printed, and we're in an old building, so we have to raise money for upkeep—the nonglamorous things that need to be taken care of."

A typical day: "We have an opening night almost every week. You're at performances, at events that are outside of 'working hours' all the time. There isn't really a typical day—that's why I'm still here after a very long time!"

Latest Posts

In the new film Shirley, Elisabeth Moss stars as Shirley Jackson, the horror writer who rose to fame with her 1948 short story "The Lottery." The controversial hit led to the most mailThe New Yorker had ever received about a work of fiction. Jackson went on to write hundreds more short stories and numerous books, including The Haunting of Hill House, which was adapted into a Netflix series in 2018.

In the film, a young couple moves in with Jackson and her philandering husband, a professor at Bennington College. Shirley initially resents this intrusion, and the ensuing drama inspires her next novel. Like one of her stories, the movie is a psychological thriller, where the line between imagination and reality is blurred.

<p>"About six weeks to a month before we shot, Josephine sent me a storyboard and a whole lookbook. I found that really inspiring because I often struggle, in my own work, to communicate all my ideas. I thought, why don't I make lookbooks?" Driscoll said in a recent conversation.</p><p>After rehearsal, we headed to a hotel for the night. As a concert dancer, even this indie film felt lavish to me: All our meals were provided and we each got our own hotel room. The next morning we were up early to head back to set for hair and makeup. This was a long process, but watching the hair and makeup team get everyone into 1940s glam was one of my favorite parts of the experience.</p><p>The costume team sourced almost all the clothing from vintage stores, so most of what we were wearing was completely authentic to the time period. We were included in the crowd scenes, which showed students coming and going from class, as well as a few others, so we changed between different costumes throughout the day, sneaking in extra rehearsal time here and there.</p>

<p>To help direct movement in certain parts of the film, including crowd scenes and an eerie dream sequence, director Josephine Decker brought on choreographer <a href="https://www.dancemagazine.com/search/?q=Faye+Driscoll" target="_self">Faye Driscoll</a>, who has choreographed extensively for theater and film in addition to her own performance work. Driscoll also worked with Decker on the acclaimed indie film <em>Madeline's Madeline</em>.</p><p>At the last minute, the production team decided to cast dancers for a few scenes. I was one of them, and the whirlwind experience was my first commercial gig. I answered a casting call on a Tuesday, and by Friday I was in a van being driven to Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, where <em>Shirley</em> was filming on location. There were three other dancers—Tara Sheena, Lyric Danae, and Allegra Herman. We had just one afternoon to rehearse our main scene, which was shot the next day.</p><p>Our dance scene was the dream sequence, where we appeared alongside actress Victoria Pedretti, whose character is something of a temptress. As we dove into our rapid rehearsal process, Driscoll started by showing us a collection of images she and Decker had compiled to inspire the scene, ranging from sexy to grotesque.</p>

<p>By the time we got to our dance scene, the sun had gone down. We were working in and around a large tree, and the crew had set up a single massive light to illuminate the area. It was late in the day and everyone had been working since early that morning. We were told, basically, to just go for it. We performed several different movement sequences that Driscoll had put together, with the camera rolling the whole time.<br></p><p>"Those days there were like tech, dress, and a show, but with no catharsis," says Driscoll. "I love working in film, but so much of it really is delayed gratification."</p>

<p>With no real-time feedback, it's hard to tell whether what you're doing is working or not—but the crew and other actors on set were enthusiastic. "I remember people being so blown away, which was so interesting, because that wasn't something I would put on stage. But it was nice to see, because as dancers we labor and labor away for the people who love this thing that we do. And that's part of what is so valuable, that we have this community. But to get to do something like this that was a little bit weird, and a little bit outside the mainstream, it gives us a boost," says Driscoll.</p><p>Of course, we left the set knowing that everything we did could end up being cut from the film. This is partly true: Driscoll says that only a small snippet made it in. But even that little bit, as well as her work directing the movement of bodies in other scenes, shows how a dancer's perspective can enrich film.</p><p>"So many people are really not in their bodies, and that's surprising to dancers," says Driscoll. "A little bit of the information we have can go a long way."</p><p>You don't have to wait for theaters to reopen to see the movie—<em>Shirley </em>is available on Hulu and on-demand platforms like iTunes and Amazon Prime starting today.</p>